OVERVIEW

LUZVIMINDA

When she lost her husband Jesse to a heartbreaking plane crash in 2012, Leni Robredo gained nationwide sympathy. Little did she know that the tragedy would pave the way to a huge political journey.

Now, the soft-spoken widow is raking in support not just from her home province Camarines Sur, as shown in her slow but steady rise in survey rankings.

The only lady among Vice Presidential hopefuls, Robredo is known for her simplicity, for riding buses to Naga, for refusing to have bodyguards, and for being a staunch believer of corruption-free governance. But are these qualities enough for people to elect her to the second highest post in the land?

ABS-CBN News

Posted at 21 Dec 2011 03:36 PM | Updated as of 22 Dec 2011 04:52 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo on Wednesday said the government aims to relocate about 100,000 residents along riversides in Metro Manila before the term of ... READ MORE

ABS-CBN News

Posted at 13 Dec 2011 06:22 PM | Updated as of 14 Dec 2011 02:23 AM

MANILA, Philippines – Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo has ordered police to crack down on a group of teenagers involved in robbery incidents in Metro Man... READ MORE

ABS-CBN News

Posted at 02 Dec 2011 11:49 AM | Updated as of 03 Dec 2011 01:05 AM

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) - The camp of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Friday said they will appeal the "no cellphone, no laptop" policy for Arroyo once she is transferred to the... READ MORE

ABS-CBN News

Posted at 02 Dec 2011 10:24 AM | Updated as of 02 Dec 2011 10:14 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo on Friday said the government will shoulder the cost of the hospitalization of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ... READ MORE

ABS-CBN News

Posted at 01 Dec 2011 12:20 PM | Updated as of 02 Dec 2011 01:02 AM

MANILA, Philippines – Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo on Thursday dared Arroyo spokeswoman Elena Bautista-Horn to reveal the source who told her that the Aquino government is... READ MORE

ABS-CBN News

Posted at 29 Nov 2011 06:19 PM | Updated as of 30 Nov 2011 02:19 AM

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo arrived in Zamboanga City Tuesday to confer with local government officials, following a blast Sunday night that... READ MORE

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LUZVIMINDA

(ABS-CBN News, Based on Research by ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group)

Born on April 23, 1964, Bicolana Leni Robredo lived a relatively private life.

She spent years in Naga, where she earned her bachelor of laws degree from the University of Nueva Caceres, before passing the bar in 1990.

She also has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines, earned in 1986.

ROAD TO POLITICS:

A mom to daughters Jessica Marie, Janine Patricia, and Jillian, Leni was hurled into the spotlight after husband Jesse died.

Shortly after her husband's untimely demise, Robredo was assigned to take over his position as Chair of the Liberal Party in Camarines Sur.

She ran, although reluctantly, and won as Camarines Sur First District Representative.

Robredo toppled the nearly 40-year reign of the Villafuerte clan in the 3rd District of Camarines Sur. She ran against Atty. Nelly Villafuerte, wife of three-term Congressman Luis Villafuerte who ran for governor in 2013 but lost to grandson Miguel.

But after just one term in Congress, her allies convinced her to try a higher position.

Robredo initially said that she would like to run for re-election as Congresswoman or for the Senate, and that running for vice president was “not among her options.”

She initially said she would not enter politics for the sake of her children, despite the urging of Liberal Party officials and her husband’s supporters. However, she decided to run to “unify” the party, which was “on the brink of fragmentation” because two of its officials wanted to run for the same post. Robredo filed her candidacy only on the last day of filing certificates of candidacy.

SALN:

Robredo declared the following in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth as of December 31, 2014:ASSETS: P14,932,124 (of which, Real Properties: P1,735,000 and Personal Properties: P13,197,123)LIABILITIES: P6,900,000NET WORTH: P8,032,124

Campaign Spending and Contribution"

For her 2013 bid for Representative of 3rd District of Camarines Sur, Robredo received a total of P1,615,065 worth of contributions for her campaign. She spent only P960,304.34. This means she had P654,760.66 in excess campaign donations after the elections.

Majority of the funds she received, or P1,452,425, were cash donations from individuals. Robredo’s top donors were lawyer-businesswoman Loida Nicolas-Lewis and Jose Mari Chan, who donated P500,000 each.

Controversies/Issues:

ON THE COMPARISON BETWEEN HER HUSBAND’S AND GRACE POE’S CITIZENSHIP ISSUES

In an interview on Bandila on Sept. 2, Robredo said that the citizenship case filed against her husband, Jesse, when he was running for Naga City Mayor was different from that of Poe’s. Robredo said that her husband’s case had to do with Jesse’s paternal grandparents being Chinese and that he never renounced his Filipino citizenship at any point in his life, unlike what Poe did when she became a US citizen.

ON GRACE POE’S RENUNCIATION OF CITIZENSHIP

In another interview with ANC meanwhile, Robredo said that Filipinos “do not deserve” a president who renounced her citizenship. She added that the question about Sen. Grace Poe's citizenship is “not about legality or qualifications” but about “loyalty to country.”

ON HER RELUCTANCE TO RUN FOR VP

Robredo initially said that she would not run for vice president because her children did not want to live their lives in the public eye. She admitted that she was considering running for re-election or for the Senate. It took no less than Pres. Aquino to convince Robredo’s children to allow their mother to run for VP. In her acceptance speech at Club Filipino in October 2015, Robredo said: "Buong puso, buong pananampalataya at buong tapat kong tinatanggap ang hamon na tumakbo bilang pangalawang pangulo ni Mar Roxas

Bills Authored/Advocacies:

Policy measures that Robredo authored include those that seek to promote transparency and accountability, people’s participation in governance, rural development, women empowerment, among others. Some of the notable ones are:

Full Disclosure Bill (House Bill No. 19), which seeks to mandate government agencies to fully disclose their financial transactions, budgets, and documents of public interest. Robredo promised to push this measure during her campaign.

Freedom of Information Bill (HB 3237)

People Empowerment Bill, which seeks to create a system of partnership between local governments and civil society organizations through the establishment of people's councils in local government units

A bill that she authored was signed into law. This is RA 10638, An Act extending the corporate life of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) for another fifty (50) years, further amending for the purpose Republic Act No. 4156